WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2023

Terri - so glad you found your purse, whew. Glad you were able to spend some time with your cousin and wife, sorry to hear about Eddie.

Tracey - I love looking at all of your crafting, that bag is really nice. So nice you had a big dinner for Thanksgiving. My grandmother would often invite a neighbor or older friends to join in. We kids always thought it was neat to hear the adults talk, lol.

Thoughts about itchies and hives - I remember when hives developed after my belly button hernia surgery several years ago - allergic reaction to the latex tape or that solution they swabbed my tummy with. Drove me crazy. Our medical expert here Karen said to try using H1 and H2 blockers together - benadryl and Pepcid A/C for example. That did the trick and I make sure to keep them both on hand after that. A steroid shot would have also helped if I would have thought to go see my GP.

Pip - what great memories of the early Amazon days! You were all kids then. I remember buying coffee at the original Starbucks store down at Pike Place Market in Seattle before Howard Schultz took over and made it world wide. That store just sold coffee beans and ground coffee, no fancy drinks. It was quite a novelty when prior to that, the only ground coffee available was in cans at the store. And by the way: Pip Lenny Kirby .... it all turned out so well for you.

Lisa - I love to hear about your organizing and the upcoming plans for remodeling. I've been stockpiling items to drop off at the "free box" when I take Rosie to the groomer's in a few weeks. The last time I was in a local thrift store, I was surprised at the prices they are charging. I get it tho - they have rent, utilities, and have to pay the staff like every other business. I'll still drop off items there from time to time.

Back is some better, I need to head to town this morning and get stocked up. And get some gas maybe. I have a couple cans of gasoline in the shop from last year that need to be used up (I put stabilizer in them last fall) so when I can get someone strong (5 gallons = 40 pounds is too heavy for me no matter what shape I'm in!) I'll have them add some to the mower and some to the cars and get fresh to have on hand for the generator. Might be a Roger job if my friend Charlie doesn't stop by soon, or Jim next door. I am so lucky and grateful to have helpful guys for these little chores.

It's still hard for me to call someone and ask for help though, even for something like this. Buck up, Netters!

Have a wonderful day.

Lanette
SW WA State

Hi Gals,

I have been working on adding some new habits, all around the idea of getting some more me time…which really means figuring out how to make my work time more efficient. Which is not that easy, but I have to generate the same or even more money each week, but also free up all of one day a week to have “off”. Ten years of having some income generating work in most every day is burning me out. So the first change has been making one each day a week client appointment free to be able to work with out interruption. I did it for the first time last week and it felt good – I got more done in that day then in an average day. So looking forward to that again this week.

I am finding the making dinner once a week for my friend’s family is really encouraging me to do more meal planning and preparation. At this point it is still extra work, but I can really see the efficiency in the future. I am pre-making and freezing some things. I got the opportunity to get a prstock pot of tomatoes from a neighbor, and while usually I would have canned them as either chopped tomato or as sauce, this time I did some as roasted tomato and red peppers for the base of tomato/pepper soup, some as marinara sauce, and just a little as chopped tomato. Like I said a bit more work upfront but it will pay off. I am doing the same thing with cookies – I am including 6 cookies in each dinner bag (there are 3 of them) so am freezing cookie dough in individual cookie scoops, so I will just take out 6 balls and cook them.

Love seeing all the pictures of grands, travel and family. Lisa – you can really see the “old soul” wisdom in Haily’s eyes, that is a kid with a lot of life experience at just 8.

Rori – you are a great example to all of us, you have embraced life with such a cheerful forward looking attitude.

Rosemary –I think everyone is correct that you can say NO….how ever If you do feel that your mom does need more “caregiving” there is another option that just you or your brother, and that is professional help – I am thinking a senior living environment. I have looked at them here for my mom and while they are expensive when I started to do the “math” not just freak out at the monthly number, there were some good options, and all of the locations I looked at provided some great socialization options that are not available just living with you or your brother or on her own. I don’t know all the variables of your mom’s situation, but I found that I was more impressed than I expected to be – here everyone tends to say just something about the expense, and granted it is not cheap, but certainly worth a few hours of research before writing it off. Granted I did the research, with my Mom saying she was interested and then at the end having her say NO I would never move, and when I asked why she had said yes before it was because it was easier to just let me do the work than tell me the truth… I was really angry, but now am glad I know what I know and can share that there is options for regular folks not just the very rich.

Love ya all,
Kim in N. California

Heather ~ Once again, the scenery is beautiful. I would love to be in sitting and looking at the canal and the people.

Lanette ~ So glad you have some men available to help you as things crop up that need caring for. I'm not sure why you are storing gasoline though. Are there no gas stations near you?

Lisa ~ Don't blame Egg for being upset that her picture window seat is being occupied.

Tracey & Rebecca ~ You both are so creative! Love the scrabble board and the tote bag.

Terri ~ Glad you found your purse and phone. It is really scary when you misplace things.

Chilly here in Georgia today and overcast! Supposed to be chilly all week!

Carol in Ga who is still trying to figure out all the buttons etc. in her new-to-me car!

So sorry that you're dealing with an allergic reaction Machka!
When I was a child we had an above ground pool in the back yard. Every summer I seemed to be the "human tester" when it came to the PH levels in the pool. They'd throw me in and if I got a rash from head to toe, they'd adjust it accordingly. Well that's what it felt like! The pink Calamine lotion was smeared on from head to toe, and I would sit in front of a fan, waiting patiently for it to dry. Good times.😂🙄. But I empathize with you!💖
Rebecca
Whidbey
Wa

So husband has two new sets of slacks and he's walking around bragging he looks better than me. He also was able to buy size 34 slacks instead of 36's. Its good natured, and I am proud of him, but I told him because I went up a size with the slacks I bought, that I could kick his @$$ now, so there's that..😂😂. Men... Oh and he's started wearing his collared, button down shirts too. He says he needs a sweater vest. Lawdy.
Rebecca
Whidbey
Wa